An alumna of Clarion West Writer’s Workshop for science fiction and fantasy, I’ve written for markets like The New York Times and Time Out New York. Currently, I write about sci-fi for Blastr. I also edit the humor competition for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. You can follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and here at Forbes.

'Aliens: Colonial Marines' Gamers: Don't Give Up (Hadley's) Hope

When Aliens: Colonial Marines launched on Tuesday, the majority of reviewers hated it the way Ripley hates xenomorphs…and the gamers who paid to play A:CM hated it even more. Maybe I’m saying this because I didn’t experience as many issues as other people had–also, I had fun playing, because killing aliens = good times–but I’d like you to give A:CM a second chance…with an important caveat.

But first, an overview for those who have been too busy on planet Earth to pay attention to what’s wrong on LV-426. For many (apparently most) reviewers, the game had three very serious issues:

1) The AI. A:CM’s AI has bugs and glitches. Nick Cowen, who played the game on both PC and Xbox, noted in the Guardian that the console had more serious AI issues. But as we can see in the Gearbox Knowledge Base, even the PC had a number of flaws. In addition, some reviewers found the AI was simplistic as the aliens seemed to just run at you, rather than attack you from the side or above.

2) The textures. I mentioned in my review that the textures were strangely coarse, while others noted that they seemingly belonged to the previous decade. Pre-release footage showed better definition; apparently the game had been downgraded and improvements were left out of the final release. (Problems with the console ports is the prevailing theory.)

3) The dialog and plot. Some reviewers took issue with the marine banter as well as the plot, the former being too macho and the latter for being too simplistic. The storyline, reviewers (myself included) noted, also lacks a conclusion.

Yup, those are problems. I evidently had a better game experience than most: 1) I didn’t encounter a single AI glitch on my PC. Not one. And yes, the aliens took to the walls and ceilings often enough to keep me challenged. 2) The textures were certainly unlovely. But played at 1080p, and combined with excellent sound A:CM was absolutely immersive. For a tie-in game, that’s arguably the main objective. 3) As for the story, yes, it was muddled, but it scratched my fangirl itch.

The caveat I have about returning to A:CM, though, is where Gearbox goes from here.

Gearboxes’ first attempt to land the dropship of awesome might have crashed and burned, but it’s not game over, man, yet—there’s one more dropship on the Sulaco, and one more chance they have to get this right.

Gearbox has already patched such issues as, egads, “Spitter’s ‘Acid Spray’ now originates from the mouth.” Yes, it wasn’t forward-thinking of Gearbox to release a game that wasn’t quite ready to ship, but the fact that the company is actively patching the game, rather than walking away completely, is at least encouraging. (Internet rumor has it that a larger patch is on the way, one that may give players the textures, effects, and improvements they’re looking for.)

Actually, the Texas-based company would do well by their fans if they came out with a complete overhaul—something they may be able to do now that their flagship project, Borderlands 2, has shipped. Patching up a game after release is always an ugly thing to have to do, but it’s even more ugly for paying customers to put up with a game they consider substandard.

(Note to Gearbox: Have xenomorphs respawn behind you, so you can never be 100% certain that you’ve cleared an area. It worked in the 1999 videogame, Aliens vs. Predator.)

If you’re an Aliens fan on the fence or who’s already written off A:CM, my advice is to watch and wait a bit, to see if Gearbox can resolve the criticisms that have been leveled at the game. If you’ve already bought the game, but haven’t played it yet, it might be worth delaying gratification—especially if you have a console. If you’re already tooled up with three co-op buddies, though, go for it; as with Borderlands, A:CM benefits from a shared experience.

Even with the game out only a few days, the modding community has swung into action, so if you’re impatient, there are already some graphics tweaks PC gamers can apply. Those, too, will likely mature. (Alas, that’s no consolation for consoles.)

There’s a good game in A:CM. Despite the problems many had with graphics, AI, and elements of the story arc, I enjoyed playing the campaign, and I’m looking forward to the continuation of the plot in the DLC (so long as it answers some questions, anyway). However A:CM wound up the way it did, I hope more gamers get a chance to experience the best xenomorph spree kill that they can possibly have.

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A lot of people were also playing solo. It sounds like you, like me were waiting for *that game* to lets you jump in with friends and play colonial marines through an alien swarmed campaign. Myself, my brother and a friend played straight through the night of release and like you, experienced virtually none of the issues mentioned in most of the reviews.

Granted, we were calling out contact directions and killing aliens before they had a chance to get to us, but every once in a while, one would, and a couple times it just stood there and posed for the camera.

Also, the story was…ok. There was a bit too much ‘oorah’ good game butt slapping going on. I’ve been active duty military, it just struck me as a bit over the top.

Otherwise yes, anytime there is a chance to get together with friends and lay waste to bugs is a good time.

AMPoitz: Exactly, and what a relief to hear it from someone else. Playing this game and giving it a thumbs up, only to see the rest of the world rage about it, has been a surreal experience for me. Glad you had fun. I did too.

I whole heartedly agree with this article. Believe me when I say there is no bigger Aliens fan than I. Don’t believe me? Well, watch this real quick… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ4iz_qy8Uw You can now kinda appreciate my anticipation for this game and I for one stand by it. Gearbox takes risks. It’s those risks that help push games into new directions. Aliens:CM has become infectious to me as did the movie. The multiplayer in Aliens is secretly reinventing how online matches will be played as is the campaign. I play a LOT of games and I have never played a movie canonical game that I can experience with up to four friends. This is new territory and it maybe a little bumpy and scary but as James Cameron would say thats exactly where he likes to be. That’s where all the greatest things live! Objectives, Goals and Cooperation! Asymmetrical gameplay! What great ideas to bring onto the grid. It’s refreshing. I’ve left the days of Duty a long time ago from the boredom of realizing we’re just running around in circles killing each other with no point whatsoever. But we want to evolve into thinking gamers and with Aliens, I can now stalk my prey and drive legitimate fear into their hearts. “Muwahahaha…” I mean, “Hisssss….”. This game forces you to team up and work together! Organized thinking. Long ago were the days of mindless wandering around digital playgrounds by ourselves! The world has become too hyper critical for its own good. Yes, the execution for the game could have been better (we all like shiny things) but I have a firm faith in Gearbox. They love their fans. And I believe future updates and DLC will bring this game back from the brink. Not to mention the future PC modding as you mentioned above. Just watch. This game is going to still surprise people. I’m the kind of guy who likes to see the good in all things and Randy Pitchford and the team at Gearbox are one of the greatest things to happen to video games, period. The rest of the world can keep playing Halo and Duty for years to come. I’m actually very fine with that. But I’m sticking with my badass marines by whom all other space marines were based on. I’m staying old school and I’m staying frosty. Long live the Queen and long live Gearbox! ….oh and shame on all the professional game reviewers out there who looked past all these things and for being brutally unfair. 4.5? Really??? Do you guys even play games??? I realize maybe you were trying to teach a lesson but in the end Gearbox will have the last laugh. Oh and this is the first time I have ever done anything like this. That’s how strongly I feel.

I played the game in top difficulty and I finished campain in ~5 hours, multiplayer is bugged, you can not navigate the walls/ceilings accurately without getting stuck somewhere. The PC version I paid for 50Euros is sub standard in every account compared to all major FPS releases, AI,Story, Graphics. Did you take a look into the demo they showcased? It a completely different game! Gearbox used SEGA money to fund their projects and made all die-hard funs of the franchise settle for a sub-sub-standard product developed from a different company. Get your facts straight.

Sotiris: I played the multiplayer back in October when Gearbox held an event during New York Comic Con. It looked and played just fine then, and to the best of my recollection, the graphics were fine too.

I’m sorry you experienced those bugs. (I didn’t, as I pointed out.) Gearbox needs to fix them for the players who encountered them.

I watched everything I could get my hands on for this game and one thing stands out to me that no one remembers. In some of the earliest footage as well as the E3 demo that eventually ended up on the PSN for DL you see the words “WORK IN PROGRESS.” Why are people so surprised at changes that happened almost a YEAR after the demo? Has no one ever heard of test screenings, BETA’s, or even Pilots? Things can change dramatically sometimes and it happens all the time right under your nose. I have never had any bad experiences with this game at all and the footage quality vs. actual game play is not nearly as bad as people complain about. I mean seriously did anyone see the hived areas the graphics look spot on there and outside on LV-426 looks awesome with all the stuff in the BG and atmosphere.